Candice: "I've always been considered an R&B singer, but I really want to be R&B with a touch of jazz, and just (do) songs that really touch your heart, but also those fun songs."

Kree: "Country. I've written songs since I was 14. Maybe I'll put something on there that's an original, but I trust the people that are working their butts off to find the single and the album for the winner. ... Maybe me and (third-place finisher Angie Miller) will write a song together. We've talked about that a bunch."

Describe your fellow finalist.

Candice: "Kree is the sweetest person I have ever met. She's there for everybody. She puts the world before herself. She doesn't think of this as a competition. ... I've never heard anybody sing like Kree before in my life. Kree is country and soul. And it's not every day you hear those two things combined."

Kree: "Candice is one of the best vocalists that's ever been on any show, much less American Idol. She's way beyond just a singer, she's an artist. I respect her and she inspires me every day. She's an amazing person."

Besides making the finals, what has been your Idol high point?

Candice: "Definitely going home and seeing the support. Meeting Drake was pretty cool. That's somebody I look up to and enjoy his music. And meeting Smokey Robinson, one of the biggest legends to ever walk the planet."

Kree: "The next step is always the high point. Top 40, I made a new goal: 'All right, Kree, top 20.' Top 20, I made a new goal: top 10. And then, top three. That was way more than I could have ever imagined and here I am (in the top two). I don't even know my name right now."

What has been most challenging about Idol?

Candice: "Having themes of music that we didn't really grow up on and having to turn those songs that you've never heard into your own songs."

Kree: "To live in the moment, because it's so constant and fast-paced. To just appreciate every little step that you take in this process."

How important is winning to you?

Candice: "Winning is super important. It would be validation and redemption, and it would mean the world to me to have that moment."

Kree: "Very important. Whatever happens, I've already won. I came here to create a following and Idol was the chance for me to do that, a platform for my music. (It would) give me the power to make a record immediately, which is really all I want to do, make good music."

Why should fans make you the next American Idol?

Candice: "My versatility, and just being the one that would take a risk here and there. I think that's a good quality to have. It would mean the absolute world if they would vote."

Kree: "Because I feel like I'm an artist and I want to be able to give them good music for the rest of my life. That's a good enough reason."